Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority

Pennsylvania's new symbol for safety

By analyzing data, educating patients and practitioners, and collaborating across institutions, the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority works to advocate for and implement safety best practices in health facilities throughout the Keystone State. Feeling their years-old logo failed to reflect the organization’s unique positioning as a non-state-funded agency operating outside the realm of typical government bureaucracy, the PA PSA enlisted Happy Cog to redesign their visual identity.

Interviews and a collaborative workshop with PA PSA stakeholders allowed the Happy Cog design team to hone in on what a potential logo should and should not convey.

What we did

Industry

Through active discussion and debate during the workshop, brand attributes were reduced from 50 to a must-have four.

A sense of trust and expertise was imperative, as was the avoidance of visual motifs typical of other government and healthcare agencies. Ultimately, seven logos were presented and whittled down to one.

Final logo.

The ultimate solution is strong and simple: an exponential curve uniting the state of PA to form the PSA acronym. While the mark nods to the Authority’s statewide reach, the curve itself also speaks to the technical component of the PSA’s work, both their analysis of safety data and their striving for continuous improvement.

The curve extends to form a pattern evocative of a rope—a literal patient safety lifeline. Applications maintain a strong, confident messaging strategy portraying the PSA as a true authority in the field.